The
Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 ranks as an unparalleled disaster in
the history of San Francisco. More than four and one-half square miles
of San Francisco burned and crumbled into a windswept desert of desolation.
Nearly 200,000 people out of San Francisco's population of 450,000 were
left homeless by the disaster. The Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads
immediately closed their ticket offices and threw wide the gates so all
who chose could ride away from the scenes of destruction and desolation.
They were carried free of charge to every section and corner of the United
States. Over 100,000 refugees were handled out of the Oakland offices
alone. Trains were so crowded and heavy that they could not be moved by
less than three engines.

Because
of government and financial interests of the time, the official San Francisco
death toll has always been extolled as remarkably small. The San Francisco
Board of Supervisors official count in 1907 was only 478. It was thought
that a high death toll would hamper the rebuilding and repopulation of
the city.

For
many years I did extensive research on the 1906 Earthquake Dead using
the dates of death between April 18, 1906 - May 19, 1906. I have since
learned from Dr. Donald Cheu of the Governor's Earthquake Task Force that
an earthquake death is defined as "… an immediate fatality resulting from
an earthquake or an earthquake-caused injury or illness that becomes fatal
within a period of ONE YEAR following the earthquake." I realized hundreds
had been excluded.

Now
I am again looking to you for help. In response to repeated requests through
our website my team and I are setting out to compile an accurate account
of those effected by the 1906 earthquake. This time we are looking for
information on everyone who was here at the time, both survivors and those
who perished. It doesn't matter if they were killed instantly, were uninjured,
stayed to help rebuild, left on the first boat or refugee train. All of
their stories are important. We know that many places along the entire
West Coast felt the impact of this earthquake. If your ancestors were
in an outlying area and you know the story, please let us include them.

Your
family's oral histories are full of valuable information. You have all
of the space you need in the boxes provided on each questionnaire to give
as many details as you possibly can. Every detail is important to us.
Please take the time to share them with us and acknowledge your ancestor's
accomplishments.

Special Note:
Our entire budget comes through donations. In order to keep this project
alive any donation you could possibly make would be greatly appreciated.
Please go to our main website at sfmuseum.org
for more information about sustaining this valuable part of San Francisco's
history